


How It All Started

by Maybelifeistooshort



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-20 07:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11916105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maybelifeistooshort/pseuds/Maybelifeistooshort
Summary: We only got to see a little of the main cast's parents, and I have questions. What caused Max to come to the realization that his parents don't care? What is Nikki's dad like? What is Neil's mom like? And so many more. Also I'm procrastinating updating my other story...





	1. Nikki's Seventh Birthday

Nikki was woken up by the sun shining through her window. She looked outside and watched her mom getting into a random guy's car, and the girl just closed the curtains. She grabbed her overalls and her green shirt, it was too bad she couldn't show any of skin to play in the mud, but it was snowing! She looked at the calendar, seeing it was the 22, and jumped up and down, this meant that she was going to get to go on a nature hike with her nanny! Maybe this year her dad would actually remember to tell the nanny, and maybe her mom would come back soon. 

She knew her parents weren't in love like her friend's were. Her mom would come home sometimes with guys, who would pay her after, and her dad would drink a lot of the weird soda that were in the cans and bottles. They weren't often seen in the same room, and they didn't go on dates. Nikki didn't mind it though, they both loved her in their own ways, and they would spend time with her if she asked. They weren't great parents, but she got the love she needed from them.

Nikki's dad, Martin, was cooking breakfast for the two of them. He had watched Candy walk out, but didn't bother to try and stop her. She couldn't even remember her daughter's birthday, good riddance. He sat the plate of pancakes on the table for when the girl came down so she could play in the snow. She had stopped asking where Candy was going the third time she left, when Nikki was six.

Nikki was an accident, it was supposed to be a few dates, and Martin was actually planning on breaking it off with the slut when she told him. They decided it was best to stay together until the baby was born, and stay together for her. Candy was free to date, and Martin would take care of her and the kid as long as he played along. He was a little older than her, but he had a lot of money. He ran his own company, so he had enough money to...convince Candy to stay for the first few years. 

When Nicolet was born, no one expected her to be as happy as she was in her homelife. She spent most of her days outside, with her nanny. Her mom left for the first time when Nikki was about three. Nikki didn't notice until she started seeing empty beer bottles on the floor and had to go to the hospital for the first time by accidentally cutting her leg open with a broken bottle.

Now she was pretty used to it, and now every summer her dad would send her to a new summer camp, trying to find one she would like. He would have to wait another two years until Candy would send her to Camp Campbell.

Nikki ran downstairs and plopped into her chair, eating her pancakes quickly. She watched her dad get another bottle out of the fridge and smiled widely. She grabbed her jacket and with a quick nod, ran outside. She saw as a snowball was thrown and hit her, exploding with a soft 'puff'. She cheered and ran to play with the guys, they never made fun of her like the girls in her neighborhood.

After a few hours of playing, she walked back inside with pink cheeks and a red nose, sneezing. She was sweating, even though she should've been freezing. Her nanny was at the table, with two mugs of hot chocolate. The woman handed one to nikki, it had more whipped cream than hot cocoa, but it was just how Nikki liked it. She yawned, and the woman walked her up to her huge bedroom, opening the window so the girl wouldn't start coughing up blood again. 

Nikki woke up when she heard some groaning downstairs, and walked down to see her mom and a new guy naked wrestling on the couch. She ignored them as she walked into the kitchen and out of the back door, she wanted to play. She heard yelling next door, and peeked over the tall fence. There were two parents, yelling at their son. There was a spilled drink. She bit her lip as she heard things like, "You were such a mistake," and, "Just go back up to your room where you can't bother us"

She quickly hopped down and went to the porch and grabbed a rock, climbing back up. She threw the rock and jumped down before she could hear the glass break and the screams. She rushed back inside and saw her mom getting a drink. Her hair was down, and she was drinking right from the green bottle. "Nikolet? What're you doin' up, it's almost mornin'" the woman looked at her. Nikki shrugged, "I wanted to play outside"

Candy just pointed upstairs, and Nikki ran up, jumping into her bed. It had been a good day, she could always go on a hike next year. Her dad made breakfast, her mom came back before her next birthday, and she didn't hear any yelling between her parents. Life was great, she had friends, and she had gotten to be outside all day. Her mom may have found someone that she liked, and her dad had actually had a conversation with her, and none of his weird friends came over.

She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep with a smile on her face, she was truly full of innocence and love. Even though her mom left the house often, and didn't stay with her dad for long, there was more than one reason why she came back. While her dad had a drinking problem and his friends weren't great, he really did try to give her a good life. The girls in her town were assholes, but she had some good friends that actually cared about her.


	2. Max's First Day at Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max knew his parents didn't care, so he stopped caring, until David came into the picture

Max sat in the backseat of the sleek black car as his mom drove. It was silent. He had heard things about how they were happy to get rid of him, so he wasn't going to try and talk her out of taking him to the camp. He was nine, he didn't need them to take care of him. She pulled into a stop where about ten other kids were waiting. Some were talking, and laughing, and smiling. He snatched his backpack from the trunk before his mom could 'accidentally' drive off. 

He looked around and spotted a ginger man talking to a bored looking woman. The man had a yellow bandanna and the happiest eyes Max had ever seen. He seemed to be looking for any kids that were alone, so Max walked up to a girl who was about ten. She had sandy blonde hair and a blue stripe in her hair. She had a leather jacket and some 'cool' sunglasses. She seemed to have two dads, and her voice was laid back. 

Soon the ginger saw the bus pull up and squealed. Max couldn't help but roll his eyes, he was one of those people. He had a nametag that said 'David' and Max sighed softly, he was obviously faking the 'I don't hate myself and cry myself to sleep' routine that some had tried around him, but what got to him was that it felt real. Max passed David on the way in and internally groaned, he already smelled like pine and they weren't even in the woods yet. 

Max sat in the grey bus seat alone, looking through his bag. He saw Mr. Honeynuts and was going to get him out to talk to until he heard the cool girl talking to some kid with brown hair, "I know, right? Stuffed animals are for losers who don't have any friends," he left the bear in his bag. He didn't want to be pitied, that would be stupid. He looked at everyone, he had no defining qualities. The cool girl had her hair stripe and leather jacket, and this other kid had elf ears. He shrugged it off and looked at his bright yellow shirt, oh well, at least he had his cool red shoes.

The bus pulled into the camp grounds and all of the kids slowly got off. Max got off as David called rocal "Maxwell?" kids looked around, not seeing the short boy, "Here." He grabbed the welcome button, the man smiling. Max rolled his eyes a second time "Stop fucking smiling" He mumbled, the man doing a dramatic gasp "Young man! Please, that is not a kind word!" 

Max walked to his tent, he was sharing it with someone named Chuckie. Another boy walked in, he had blonde hair and braces. He smiled, the braces were a bright pink "Hey, guess your parents sent you here against your will too?" Max nodded. The kid smiled and sat on his cot, it wasn't comfortable, but it was new. Max looked at his own and got out his bear, setting it onto the 'bed'. He watched as Chuckie pretended not to notice

Soon David called campers for their first activity, Max and Chuckie being the last to join. David smiled and gave them all knitting supplies, this was going to be great. Max looked as he started, it was pretty easy. He easily did what David told them to do "This is fucking pointless...." Max mumbled, David once again getting onto his case about his 'inappropriate language'. 

Max seemed to be doing really well, David patting him on the back with his big stupid smile, why wouldn't he just drop the act already? It was so stupid, so Max snapped at him. David just brushed it off and left an angry Max at his tent. He watched Chuckie coming over, when the bus ran over him in front of Max. David had three men behind him. Max went back inside of his tent and curled up in his bed, how the hell did that even happen? No one saw Cameron Campbell get out of the bus. 

He decided then that he hated the camp. He couldn't make any more friends, and he wouldn't try. David would pester him all he wanted, he couldn't risk losing someone again. This camp fucking sucked, and he couldn't even make a friend without that somehow getting ruined. He put his blue hoodie on over the stupid yellow shirt, and sighed. This was still, somehow better than home. He hugged his bear close and sniffled, he wished he could be like that girl next door, having fun with the kids in the neighborhood. She was like, seven, and she already had friends, and parents who cared about her.

He walked out of his tent after the ambulance left, it was growing dark. Max sighed again and walked around the stupid, kicking a rock along the way. David walked over "I'm sorry you had to see that, the bus must've messed up. We're making cards for him, do you want to join?" His voice was calm and sweet, unlike the peppy tone he had earlier. Max flipped him off and walked into the woods. He didn't actually care, Max was sure of it. He was just being payed, and hiding his real fucked up life under a smile. Max knew no one was that happy, ever.

He watched the sunset as he climbed up into a tree. not really knowing what to think, maybe he could just jump off of the tree. He looked around and groaned, it had been such a shitty day. He watched as the moon came out and laid back in the tree. He didn't notice when David saw him and started to walk over. It was too late to brace himself when he heard his name. He fell back and landed on his leg with a loud snap. This was the worst fucking summer ever already, and he still had three months until it was fucking over.


	3. Blue Casts and Yellow Cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has to partake in every inside activity, and one night, somehow a stray cat finds it's way into his tent.

Max was just lying on the ground, this wasn't horrible. He tried to move and that's when the pain hit, making him yelp in surprise. A kid ran over, he was the drama kid. He mentioned something about something called 'Dear Evan Hanson' then helped Max limp back to the camp. David was surprised, to say the least, that a camper had already broken a bone. He got the struggling boy into the car and started to drive.

Max was used to this part. He was a bit clumsy at home since his dad usually left bottles lying around near the stairs. His mom would see him and bring him to the hospital when she was done at work. She was so nice to him in public, he thought to himself as he looked outside of the window. She let him take candy when offered, she had even gotten him one of the free stuffed animals that they were handing out a few years ago.

Max then thought about what it was like when they got back, they ignored him again. He had learned to deal with it, since they had no real reason to care about him. Susie got an award for her voice when he couldn't sing well at all, Jeremy Wells had skipped a grade, and Harley was just liked by every other kid. He picked at a scab on his arm, not listening to one of the counselor's stories. Damn, he talked a lot. 

They arrived to the Sleepy Peak Hospital in a little under an hour, it all going by in kind of a blur for Max. He could barely keep his eyes open, he was tired. It made sense, since his parents kept him up all of two nights fighting and he watched his friend pretty much die. Max looked at the female doctor, she was showing him different colors of casts and asking him what color he wanted. He chose the dark blue, watching as they wrapped the broken back leg.

David helps him with the crutches, and Max gives a simple, "Fuck you." He's too tired to resist the help as the older man corrects him and helps him to the car. He hears promises of 'fun' and other things, but no details. His vision is kind of hazy and his head hurts pretty badly. He closed his eyes, his dreams filled with dreams of his nanny. She had gotten fired for doing something, but he couldn't remember. She was always so nice to him and played with him.

David looked back to see the kid in a cute position, snoring softly. He looked like the young boy he was, not the pessimistic kid he had met. It became his goal to show Max the goodness of life, no matter what it took. He didn't listen to his mind telling him to just wake the kid up as he brought the small sleeping boy to the extra room, they needed someone else to take care of the camp. He sighed softly, laying the kid down. 

The next few days were a total bore. David always left a window open in Max's room, much to the boy's protests. He looked at the cast, it had only been about a week and he had already screwed up. While he was burying himself in self pity, he didn't notice a small blonde cat jump onto the ledge of the window. He jumped slightly when the tiny thing jumped onto his bed, rubbing against his arm. 

Max groaned, this was stupid. That was just a dumb animal with a hunger. He noticed how the thing was really skinny. He didn't have much time to think about it because the door slammed open. He saw the small cat go under his bed as David came up with his tray of shitty food, setting it down in his lap. "Alright Camper! Today we're going to knit! It's easy, fun, and useful!" He cheered, making Max roll his eyes. The man wouldn't leave until Max had made a small figure. David was surprised of how fast Max picked it up, it took most people months to get close to the skill and Maxwell Jones had mastered it in a little under an hour. 

Max eventually got David to leave, and as soon as the door closed, the cat jumped back onto the bed, looking at Max's food. The boy would never admit it, but he smiled when he gave the small thing the food. He also wouldn't admit how when the tray was finished that the small cat fell asleep on his stomach purring loudly. He did nothing to stop it, but only because he was tired as well. He didn't think it was cute, he didn't already love the soft fur, and he definitely didn't name the thing 'Shadow'. 

The cat helped him get through that first summer, and he knew he wouldn't see it the next. It was too bad, because they had created a bond. Shadow would catch mice and put them on David's bed, and she would help Max sleep with her warmth and soft purring. If Max noticed David putting treats under his bed when he was supposed to be asleep, he didn't say anything about it. If he noticed how some of the campers put cat toys that they had made in the room, he kept his mouth shut. It seemed everyone loved the thing, while it hated everyone else but Max. 

David kept his mouth shut. He never told anyone that he had taken the cat home at the end of the summer. He never told anyone that he gave Max the bell that would go around Shadow's neck the next year. He knew not to, because then Max would pretend to stop liking her. Shadow became kind of the Mascot of the camp, until Larry, but she still stayed around. She always slept with Max, as if she knew that he was the one that needed her love the most.


End file.
